From the Ashes

[3] Serpentine

Pulling Jason behind us in our excitement, we duck under the neon-lit sign of the club, Serpentine. Once in, we clutch each other's arms excitedly as we scurry farther into the club, scanning the scene in front of us. The bar is to our right, all the seats practically filled as baristas tend to the Friday night crowd. The dance floor is to our left, packed with dancing bodies moving to the pounding music coming from the DJ's speakers. Booths of seats line the walls all around the dance floor.

"C'mon, let's get some booze in us before we dance!" Kait shouts in my ear over the loud, sultry music, poking at Jason’s arm as a cue to buy us drinks.

"Kait," I groan, grabbing her arm, "Let's dance first. I want to remember this, stupid," I say. In actuality, I'm kind of nervous to drink. My very first drinking experience was horrid, and I'm not too eager to try again. I had drunk too much to begin, and had ended up sick the whole night. It was a terrible experience.

Instead, I pull her toward the dance floor, waving off Jason. She obliges, too excited to not dance. We worm our way into the sea of bodies, and begin moving to the music. We stay close to each other in the crowd, using our eyes and movements to flirt silently with guys dancing near us.

"This is better, Allie," Kait shouts into my ear, "We'll find other guys to buy drinks for us, I won’t have to pay Jason back!” I laugh at the truth in her words, reaching my arms into the air and running my hands through my cascading curls as I dance. My eyes fall ahead of me to a break in the crowd where I get a straight-shot view of the booths surrounding the room. A certain guy catches my eye, seated with a group of guys and girls. I check him out, despite the other girls obviously flirting with him. He has one of those sexy chiseled chins, and a strong, masculine neck.

His build is fine as hell, I think with a grin. He has the kind of body that looks gorgeous even in a plain T-shirt. On top of it all, he also has that dark-and-captivating look, that is my guilty pleasure in guys, and I admire the way his messy black hair falls over one of his eyes...

And I mentally punch myself in the gut.

Oh, God, I just checked out Roman, hard core. Way to put a damper on my night by being here, asshole.

I look to see if Kait noticed. At the moment, she’s occupied with an attractive, older guy who’s dancing with her. She’s pressed up against him as they dance, and he leans down to whisper something into her ear. She breaks away from him to come and grab my hand.

"Allie, Seth's gonna buy us some drinks, okay? Me and him if that's alright. Find a guy!" She squeals, not waiting for my reply before letting Seth tug her toward the bar. I want to tell her to be careful... Or guard her drink so no one puts ruffies in it... Or don't go overboard. But she is soon swallowed by the crowd. Sighing, I decide to go sit in a booth. Dancing doesn't seem so appealing to me anymore. Before I go, I glance to Roman's booth one last time. My breath catches in my chest when he stares right back at me, one side of his mouth hitched up into a sly smile. He says something to the girls blocking the exit of the booth seat, and they slide off. His devilish eyes never leave mine as he makes his way to the dance floor.

Oh, beautiful.

I spin away from him, looking for a route of escape. The DJ switches tracks, the music becoming fast and energy-pumping. Shouts of approval rise above the dance floor, and more and more people join the dancing. I become trapped in a sea of grinding, slithering people.

With my time ticking away, and seeing no other option, I grab the arm of the nearest guy, and start to grind on him.

"Well hey, baby," Nearest Guy slurs down at me, sliding his hands onto my sides. I almost gag at the smell of hard liquor on his breath. He looks older, probably a college kid. His hair is dirty blonde, and sheared into an army buzz cut. He is obviously heavily inebriated. I resist the urge to squirm in his grip as his hands travel to my butt.